With stores shut for more than a month now, many retailers are worried about the accumulation of inventory in their warehouses that may end up being wasted if not cleared.
In a webinar that included the stalwart fashion conglomerates of India like Future Group, Landmark Group, Reliance Fashion Retail and Aditya Birla Fashion and Lifestyle, the Retailers Association of India (RAI) concluded that these retailers would forgo the pre-fall collection and instead move on to the planning of the Autumn/Winter collection straightaway.
The likes of Tommy Hilfiger, Ritu Kumar, Jack and Jones and Arrow are looking to clear off their Summer/Spring inventory till October or Diwali. “Fortunately, this time Diwali is due in November, giving us an extended summer. We want to avoid deep discounting as it spoils the brand image,” explained Shailesh Chaturvedi, CEO of Tommy Hilfiger Apparels.
Brands are not expecting production to stabilise before March next year and have experienced a 70 per cent decline in March 2020. Even if brands plan strategically to open stores with reduced staff and hours, the uncertainty of the current situation will likely ensure dip in footfall.
Vineet Gautam of Bestseller India also proposed structured opening of stores like in China which would span over a couple of months. Working in shifts and opening the prime stores in malls can be strategies that might help the retailer of the likes of Jack and Jones get back on its feet during this crisis that seems not to have an end in the near future.
